The order book was at 187.7m at the end of the quarter compared with 165.9m at the end of Q2 2015 [Q3 2014: 169.2m].

Order intake was strong in Q3 at 211 million. The order intake is well balanced geographically and consists of medium and large size greenfield projects with good growth in the modernization and maintenance business.

Revenue in the first nine months of the year was 617 million and adjusted EBIT 78 million (12.6%) compared with revenues of 513 million and adjusted EBIT of 33 million (6.4%) for the same period last year.

Revenues in 2014 include 30 million low margin operations that were sold or discontinued early in 2015. Cash flow and operational performance is strong leading to net debt/EBITDA at 1.1 at the end of the quarter.

A commercially strong product portfolio and focused market approach together with tailwind in the market has driven strong revenue growth in recent quarters. Near term it is expected that market conditions will normalize after a period of strong growth.

The industry that Marel operates in has a history of 4-6% annual growth and it is expected that average annual growth will remain at that level in the long term. Marel’s aim is to sustain above market growth by leveraging its market presence and with continuous investments in innovation.

Árni Oddur Thórdarson, CEO:

“Marel had an excellent third quarter with strong order received and robust operational performance. We have focused our product portfolio and optimized our manufacturing footprint leading to more dynamic and cost efficient operations that is delivering those results.

“I would specially want to thank our great team for their dedication and commitment in reshaping the business at the same time as we are focused on serving the customers’ needs better than ever.

Forward-looking statements

Statements in this press release that are not based on historical facts are forward-looking statements. Although such statements are based on management’s current estimates and expectations, forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain.

We, therefore, caution the reader that there are a variety of factors that could cause business conditions and results to differ materially from what is contained in our forward-looking statements, and that we do not undertake to update any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.